Let’s celebrate the art of Lumban embroidery!
Back our project on The Spark Project and join us on a trip for crafts, a little history and a quite a lot of food. :P
Project runs until May 15, 2013 only!
Please support and spread the word! :)
Come and join us! :D
![There Are No StrangersThe Circle HostelLa Union, Philippines
* The above photo features me with three of my trip companions and a whole bunch of new friends we made at The Circle Hostel. (Most photos here are c/o Kookai’s GF1 and Rai’s GoPro)
A few weeks ago, when my friend Marcos mentioned that he and his friends Rai and Kookai were heading over to La Union for a few days and that they were going to stay at The Circle Hostel, I (almost) jumped at the chance to join them.
On NOT surfing in La Union
Our 3-day stay, while scored with offers for surf lessons, and further aided by visuals like below:
…involved no surfing at all. :P
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However, it did involve bonding and goofing around with old friends…
Solo R&R (with friends :P) at the beach… (galit galit lang)
with my beach essentials: Banana Peel flip flops, Lagu beach-friendly beach blanket (available in my store :P), and oversized Rume eco bag
and then even more R&R at The Circle Hostel…
some hula hooping…
lots of flow wanding (this is awesome, as everyone with us can attest, though the picture doesn’t do it justice :P)…
and pondering the meaning of life…
I’d been wanting to check out The Circle Hostel in either Zambales or La Union (both owned by my friend Raf Dionisio) since I’d been hearing people mention it here and there. And my somewhat spur-of-the-moment trip to La Union with Marcos, Rai and Kookai let me experience it for myself.
True to the nature of hostels and backpacking, The Circle Hostel was very rustic and no frills, and yet that was also its charm. The easy atmosphere and good-natured guests also further validated The Circle Hostel’s motto of “there are no strangers”, and we were easily able to get to know and hangout with the other guests staying at the hostel at the time, and even headed into town to feast on some cheap street eats. :)
The Realities of Hostel Life
Hostels aren’t necessarily for everyone because some people want to have a certain level of comfort and security. Some people want air conditioning and their own room and bathroom complete with little travel sized toiletries.
But as a budget traveler (or a budget human being LOL), I generally don’t have problems sacrificing luxury to save money, but it’d be best to be prepared with:
Bug spray (I’m usually a magnet for mosquitoes wherever I go)
A flashlight (For those brief walks from the street / beach back to your hostel)
Your own lock (To secure your own belongings - I don’t usually witness / experience incidents of theft, but there seemed to be a problem with certain guests’ locks / lockers)
These are some regular travel companions of mine that I take along wherever I go, so it’s also best to be prepared with these things when staying at less frilly accommodations.
Traveling Mindfully
One of my peeves is litter, and I’ve been trying to do my part to make people more aware of the impact of litter and how they can “cut the crap”.
And one of the sad things about the trip was all the litter I’d see on the beach, exacerbated by an event setup there.
You might not see it so clearly in these photos but there was a whole bunch of litter in the form of cigarette butts, food containers and plastic bags scattered by the beach.
As more informed travelers, it would be best to be conscious of not adding to the mess, and encouraging friends to do the same. Doing a 5 to 10-minute cleanup with friends to minimize your environmental impact on a place you visit would do the community good too.
Who knows, people who see you cleaning up might become more wary of the mess that they’ve been creating and be more conscious not to add to the unsightly litter ruining the beach. ;)
‘Til my next post! :P
Cheers,Jen
The Circle Hostelwww.thecirclehostel.comE-mail: lu@thecirclehostel.comMobile: +639178326253](http://25.media.tumblr.com/14f892982c1627182e76a95f43e765bf/tumblr_mmpzg269Gk1r0u81eo1_1280.jpg)
There Are No Strangers
The Circle Hostel
La Union, Philippines
* The above photo features me with three of my trip companions and a whole bunch of new friends we made at The Circle Hostel. (Most photos here are c/o Kookai’s GF1 and Rai’s GoPro)
A few weeks ago, when my friend Marcos mentioned that he and his friends Rai and Kookai were heading over to La Union for a few days and that they were going to stay at The Circle Hostel, I (almost) jumped at the chance to join them.
On NOT surfing in La Union
Our 3-day stay, while scored with offers for surf lessons, and further aided by visuals like below:
…involved no surfing at all. :P
Liquid Dumaguete v 2.0: My Advanced Open Water Diver Course
Having completed my Open Water Diver (OWD) Course at Liquid Dumaguete in Dauin just last October, I was more than eager to come back this month to take my Advanced Open Water Diver Course, revisit my diving “home base”, and most importantly, be part of Liquid Dumaguete’s Sunday Funday, a great initiative that the team began last December and will continue to do every first Sunday of the month.
Getting to Dauin
I’d been traveling through Iloilo and Bacolod the days before, and preferring land vs. air travel, I took a 6-hour bus ride from Bacolod to Dumaguete (I’d been on a 31-hour road trip before, so 6 hours is not a big deal), but given that I had only left Bacolod a little past 4pm, on account of my visit to Rapha Valley, this meant that I’d arrive at roughly 10:30. Upon my arrival at Dumaguete, it turned out that I’d have to wait for the 11:30 bus leaving Dumaguete for Dauin (since I arrived at a less than ideal time — it’s usually a worry-free 20-minute trip from Dumaguete to Dauin).
I cram myself into the bus departing for Dauin at 11:30pm, and get dropped off at the Petron station near Liquid, take a flashlight-guided 10-minute walk to the resort, and at around 12:00 midnight, feel grateful for arriving unscathed.
Again, by no means do I advise solo female travelers to do what I did at the time that I did it. Traveling solo at night isn’t exactly the smartest thing to do. But anyway.
Touchdown: Liquid Dumaguete
![Iloilo - Bacolod - Dumaguete [Jan. 27 - Feb. 7]An all-too-brief trip of Muni PH events, travel, culture, agriculture, and diving
Earlier in January, my friend Noreen Bautista of Jacinto & Lirio told me she was going home to Iloilo for the Dinagyang Festival, and I forget if it was she or I who brought up the idea of doing a Muni event in Iloilo.
So anyway, although the tickets I could book at this point were more expensive than I was accustomed to spending on local flights (I’m really cheap), I booked the flight anyway, thinking that I may or may not have this chance again, rationalizing that the difference of several hundred to a thousand pesos on the flights might not necessarily be saved by opting to do the event at a later date anyway. And off I went.
Check out my whirlwind trip through Western Visayas and Negros :)
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ILOILO: Dinagyang, 1st Muni PH HOHOL, Philippine Science High School talk & Hablon Weaving (with side trip to Aetas in Guimaras) [Jan. 27 - 31]
Okay, so technically NOT Dinagyang because I flew in on the last day and barely caught a good view of anything, but justifying that this was not the intention for my visit and that I’m really not one for crowds, I shrugged off missing the festival and resolved to catch it from a better viewing point next year. :P
Nonetheless, the 1st Muni PH HOHOL was a huge success. And I was elated all the more by getting a somewhat surprise invitation to deliver a talk to the juniors at Philippine Science High School in Western Visayas.
When the official “Muni business” (read: events) were over and done with, the only other real agenda I had was visit the renowned Hablon weavers of Miagao, Iloilo (posting soon on Muni PH). :)
BACOLOD: Meetups & Surprise Visit To Rapha Valley [Jan. 31 - Feb. 2]
I had hoped to organize a Muni PH Bacolod HOHOL, but unfortunately, it didn’t push through, but I still managed to meet up with Ms. Tanya Lopez, museum director of the Negros Museum, along with some students of La Salle Bacolod.
Having been to Bacolod several times before, I had really just intended it as a quick stop for possible networking on my way down to Dumaguete from Iloilo. However, when I found out that my friend’s mom was headed Dr. Alberto Jo’s organic farm, Rapha Valley on Feb. 2, I decided to stay another night.
I couldn’t have been happier about the decision to put Dumaguete off and kind of just put my game face on to stay another night even if my friend was flying out on Feb. 1 (meaning I stayed one more night with just his parents hehe). Also blogging about Rapha Valley on Muni PH soon. ;)
DUMAGUETE: Clean-Up Dive / Sunday Funday, Advanced Open Water Diver Course & Lumago Designs [Feb. 2/3 (I arrived at practically midnight) - Feb. 7]
I’d long been looking forward to coming back to Liquid Dumaguete after taking my Open Water Diver course with them last October. I was doubly thrilled when I found out about their Sunday Funday initiative where they basically make taking care about one’s environment fun. :) So I made sure to time my visit such that I’d be around on a Sunday Funday, and therefore be able to participate in a cleanup dive. :D
On Sunday Funday, I also got to talk about Muni, and the importance of cutting the crap we produce so that less of it goes out to sea. Thanks for letting me share, Zoe!
When all the excitement from Sunday Funday was over, it was time for my Advanced Open Water Diver course! Read about the full experience here!
Apart from all the diving, I was also so happy to meet Whitney Fleming of Lumago Designs, a Dumaguete-based upcycled jewelry brand. Read up on them on Muni PH to find out about their great story. :)
Whew. So much had happened and I am extremely grateful to everyone who made each experience possible.
A lot of other exciting things were awaiting me in Manila too, and I’ll fill you in on that soon enough! :)
xoxo
Jen](http://24.media.tumblr.com/96e05b85f093e3c999921f3ff4f23a7d/tumblr_mhzpflGEzs1r0u81eo1_500.jpg)
Iloilo - Bacolod - Dumaguete [Jan. 27 - Feb. 7]
An all-too-brief trip of Muni PH events, travel, culture, agriculture, and diving
Earlier in January, my friend Noreen Bautista of Jacinto & Lirio told me she was going home to Iloilo for the Dinagyang Festival, and I forget if it was she or I who brought up the idea of doing a Muni event in Iloilo.
So anyway, although the tickets I could book at this point were more expensive than I was accustomed to spending on local flights (I’m really cheap), I booked the flight anyway, thinking that I may or may not have this chance again, rationalizing that the difference of several hundred to a thousand pesos on the flights might not necessarily be saved by opting to do the event at a later date anyway. And off I went.
Check out my whirlwind trip through Western Visayas and Negros :)
![Diving in Puerto Galera with Dive Instructor John Mateos Ong
Last Jan. 12-13, I managed to pull out just enough from what I have left in my savings (while ensuring I’d still have enough for my upcoming Iloilo-Bacolod-Dumaguete trip - I’m a super shoestring traveler, mind you) to join dive instructor John Mateos Ong’s students for a weekend of diving at Puerto Galera.
With Louie, Dive Instructor John, yours truly, and my age old friend Jane on the boat en route to Puerto Galera (photo c/o Michelle May Ong)
We arrived around 11, checked into El Galleon, had our lunch and looked forward to our dives at the renowned reefs of Puerto Galera.
After squirming into our wetsuits, prepping our weight belts, masks, booties, fins, BCDs (Buoyancy Control Device), regulators and tanks (with the help of the Asia Divers staff) we’d be off to our first two dives of the trip.
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Our BCDs, regulators and tanks all lined up and ready to go (photo c/o Michelle May Ong)
War of Nerves
This would be my first time to go diving after my Open Water Diver Course at Liquid Dumaguete, and I was really nervous to be diving with someone other than my instructor Adam who made me feel so safe and secure in spite of my initial reservations. (I have very little confidence in my swimming skills and my ability to hold my breath and my ability to stay calm when something scares or startles me several meters below sea level)
And after some tentativeness when water leaked into my mask on the surface (and delaying the second batch of divers), I finally got my shit together and began my descent.
We had our first dives at Monkey Beach and Sabang Wreck, descending 21m and 19m respectively. They were relaxing and pleasant dives that helped get me comfortable in the water again after some time away.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), I don’t have pictures or a video of the dive, because as tempting as a GoPro Hero 3 is, I don’t have the money to set aside for that right now. But that just means you’ll have to go down for a dive yourself. :) (I’ll share pictures here when John uploads his :P)
The next morning, I woke up to a serene and quiet picture of this. (taken from my Instagram)
Drift Dive at The Canyons
The day before John had asked the other girls if any of us was interested in diving with the more experienced boys in the Canyons. It was a drift dive (meaning the current would sort of take you on a ride), and was recommended only for advanced or experienced divers. I think all of us girls wanted to do it but were highly doubtful of our ability.
John was confident he could guide a newbie through it provided that he only had to focus on one person. Since no one else wanted to, I decided to go for it and try to challenge myself a little before taking my Advanced Open Water Diver Course in Dumaguete this February.
Flipping No Fins, You Won’t Get Too Far
We first dropped off at West Escarceo, where there was an abundance of corals as well, and a current. I thought the current was just making it harder for me to swim, when John pointed at my feet, and I lost a fin!!
This setback cost my dive mates some time (sorry again, guys!) and we had to resurface because the Asia Divers dive master would not allow us to go on with me having only one fin (which at that point I felt I actually still could go on swimming with only one fin - like a Nemo).
Good thing we replaced my lost fin though because our brief dive at West Escarceo did not prepare me for the current at The Canyons. Not to exaggerate, but there’s absolutely no way I could have made that dive without one fin, let alone without holding on to someone. You could literally see the fish swimming as if they were on an aquatic treadmill. There was a point wherein I was in a sort of whirlpool going round because the current was so strong. It was my most stressful dive to date, but I was so glad to be in John’s hands (quite literally). I was proud to have experienced it, in spite of losing my fin (and of course, having to pay for it :-S).
We took a break before our last dive of the trip, and after the mild trauma of losing my fin and getting stuck in such a strong current (I was hardly able to notice the corals at that point, to be honest), I told John I’d sit out the next dive to The Canyons and go with the girls instead, so the boys could swim uninhibited.
But with John’s encouragement, I dove with them to The Canyons again. And I’m so glad he convinced me because it was not nearly as strong in current. and there was one point where we reached a little enclave with a lot of violet, purple, and fuschia-colored colors some 30 meters deep, and I really felt like Ariel in the Under The Sea scene right before Sebastian sings…sans the singing aquatic life. That has been my favorite dive in my few 10 dives so far. Thank you, John, for your faith in me. Hehe.
With John’s other students, Sophie, Candy, Aimee, me, our dive masters, Diana, May, Louie, Jane, and Aze :) Thanks for adopting me! :P (photo c/o Michelle May Ong)
Diving with John / Jong
Any fears I had initially were unfounded, and it was nice to experience diving with another instructor, and if I had not planned to take my Advance Course in Dumaguete (since I’ll be headed in the area), I would have utmost faith in John to get me through it, with his 8 years experience in diving, 6 years in teaching, his patience, and his passion in making diving possible for Filipinos.
If you’re looking to explore diving (and I think you really should! Our country is the perfect place for that and it’s inexcusable not to experience it if you have the means to book trips abroad), check out Jong’s Dive Course Schedule (you can also just join in for fun dives if you’re looking for a group):
Feb 9/10 : Open Water Diver Course
Feb 16/17 : Open Water Diver Course
Feb 23/24 : Advanced Open Water Diver Course
Mar 16-18 : Coron Dive (fun dive)
Mar 23-24 : Open Water Diver Course
Mar 30-31 : Puerto Gallera Dive (fun dive)
Apr 20-21 : Open Water Diver Course
Apr 27-28 : Open Water Diver Course
May 11-12 : Open Water Diver Course
Aug 3-6 : Malapascua Dive (fun dive)
For more details on rates, packages, and possible discounts, get in touch with John via e-mail at artist_ph[at]yahoo[dot]com or via mobile at +63917-8111471.
Eat well, be merry, for tomorrow, you shall dive. ;)
Jen](http://24.media.tumblr.com/47456ef50bdd9e207566ad914a1adf77/tumblr_mh6hq35B2a1r0u81eo1_1280.jpg)
Diving in Puerto Galera with Dive Instructor John Mateos Ong
Last Jan. 12-13, I managed to pull out just enough from what I have left in my savings (while ensuring I’d still have enough for my upcoming Iloilo-Bacolod-Dumaguete trip - I’m a super shoestring traveler, mind you) to join dive instructor John Mateos Ong’s students for a weekend of diving at Puerto Galera.
With Louie, Dive Instructor John, yours truly, and my age old friend Jane on the boat en route to Puerto Galera (photo c/o Michelle May Ong)
We arrived around 11, checked into El Galleon, had our lunch and looked forward to our dives at the renowned reefs of Puerto Galera.
After squirming into our wetsuits, prepping our weight belts, masks, booties, fins, BCDs (Buoyancy Control Device), regulators and tanks (with the help of the Asia Divers staff) we’d be off to our first two dives of the trip.
CRAFT COFFEE WORKSHOP (with The Manila Review)
A Homey, Creativity-inspiring Hangout for Coffee Connoisseurs, Nomad Managers & Friends :)
I first visited Craft Coffee Workshop last December 15, for the launch of The Manila Review, an independent publication that aims to promote critical thinking on today’s culture and issues, catapulted by Leloy Claudio and Mara Coson. Check it out here. Yes, December 15. Backlog, I know.
As a sucker for aesthetic (and gender neutral) rustic design and great ambiance, I instantly fell in love with the place without having sampled the coffee yet.
Feeling Like A Princess at Sonya’s Bed & Breakfast
(above photo features my bed at the Fennel cottage)
I spent the weekend before Christmas with my family at Sonya’s Bed & Breakfast, a tucked away section at Sonya’s Garden. :)
My brother and sister-in-law decided to gift us full body massages for my parents, and foot spa for all of us “kids”, including the brothers. My mom said that her massage was one of the best she’s had, and that says a lot because she’s quite particular about her massages. But the more notable part of this story is how obviously extremely uncomfortable (fearful, even) my dad was with the idea of getting a massage, so much so that he was offering that my brother take it instead. He refused, of course, forcing my dad to go through his ordeal. When we saw our dad again after our foot spa, he looked so relaxed and only had good things to say about the massage and was already planning our next stay at Sonya’s. :D
Honestly, I sometimes dread family vacations because well, it can be quite stressful traveling with one’s family, with one member wanting to do this, the other wanting to do that, and people just rubbing each other the wrong way - the way that families usually do. But for some reason, there was none of that on this trip, and it was one of the most pleasant family vacations I’ve been on. :)
Read more about my experience and Tita Sonya’s beautiful B&B here.
When We Work Not For The Money
I’ve been somewhat amiss in my travel posts lately, and one might think that after a trip to exotic India, a traveling blogger who blogs about her travels (but does not necessarily call herself a “travel blogger”) might blog about it - ASAP. Alas, it has been almost a month now since I’ve come back, and I’ve yet to get around to writing about my whirlwind trip through Southern India (and side trip to Kuala Lumpur).
[Merdeka Square in KL, Malaysia]
However, ironically, November also happened to be the month wherein I became officially unemployed, and yet I feel that I’ve never been busier! I’ve been caught up with a lot of interesting new experiences, meeting new people and trying out new things like:
